What Legend and Myth Forgot

I

The Smile watched from behind the Veil.

The girl couldn’t be more than 5 years old. Her thick, black hair was held back from her face in two short braids. She wore a white collared shirt under a navy blue sweater, the sleeves pushed up revealing dark, skinny arms. She was digging in a play pit, her jeans gritty with sand and she was humming.

An old man sat snoring nearby. The sliding door behind him was open, leading into a small kitchen. Inside, a woman waltzed between the sink and the stove, pausing at times to glance at the girl. The warm smell of simmered spices wafted in the air.

The Smile pressed its empty face into the Veil. Oh, how hungry it was, and how patient. It had watched this girl for some time. Long enough to know her name. Along with her mother’s name, her father’s name and her grandfather’s name.

And all their faces.

With elongated fingers it scratched at the Veil and the Veil went taut. It strained, trying to hold back the thing that was the Smile but soon it began to thin, to tear, to split open.

The tearing made no sound but the girl’s head popped up all the same. Her brows furrowed, caught between confusion and concern. She stared in wonder at the man floating half-there before her, one arm outstretched.

“Daddy?”

“Yes Shruti.” The Smile beckoned. “It’s Daddy.”

II

Diwa Aldawan rushed out onto the street.

Noon turned Midtown Toronto into bedlam. Students, office workers and retailers alike milled about, seeking out the closest food joint. There was already a line inside the nearby McDonalds and Diwa could only imagine the queue forming in the Tim Hortons up the street. Meanwhile, slow moving traffic choked the intersection outside the subway station. The constant construction there only made it worse.

Diwa started to move. It was through sheer luck that she spotted the cruiser. Had Diwa not thought to check the side street, she would have missed it. Two men stood nearby. One was clearly an officer, the other was dressed in a crisp blazer and slacks. A fence and some construction materials awarded them some privacy.

“Suresh.”

The man in the blazer looked up at Diwa’s approach. He had run past her office a few minutes ago, causing a stir among the employees. Now he leaned against the fence, his eyes red and his hair torn.

“Boss, I-”

That’s when the police officer held up a hand. “Ma’am, if you would be so kind as to step aside-”

“My daughter is missing!” The man named Suresh buried his face in his hands. “My Shruti. And they think I took her!”

Diwa placed a steadying hand on Suresh’s shoulder. “When was this?” She looked up at the officer. “How long ago?”

“Ma’am, again I’m going to have to ask you to-”

“Diwa Aldawan. CEO of Moonrise Homes.” Diwa thrust her hand towards the officer. “Suresh works for me. I can vouch for him being in the office the entire time.”

The officer’s lips thinned. Suspicion sharpened his eyes but he reached out anyway and gave her hand a firm shake.

“Detective Kyle Redwarden,” he said. “Now, I appreciate you wanting to help but I need a few words with Mr. Rajaratnam. So if you don’t mind...”

“I can’t believe Anjani would automatically think...” Suresh was mumbling, talking more to himself than to anyone. “Even during the divorce I would never…”

“I’ll…be over there.” Diwa gestured vaguely before patting Suresh on the shoulder. “You got this part?”

Suresh drew in a breath and nodded.

The questioning didn’t last long. It was clear that Suresh was in the office at the time of Shruti’s disappearance. Claims that he had friends take her on his behalf were met with outrage, which Diwa was quick to calm. For his part Detective Redwarden remained stoic and direct.

“Most likely Shruti wandered off and got lost,” he said. “It won’t be the first time that happened. There are officers searching the immediate suburb. We’ll find her.”

“But there are park trails and forests near her mother’s home,” Suresh said. “What if she falls?”

“We’ll have officers searching those trails as well. In the meantime I suggest you return home and wait for -”

“Wait?!” Suresh gaped at the Detective. “My daughter is missing and you want me to wait?”

Diwa shifted her body between the two men. “Easy now-” she crooned, but Suresh pushed against her.

“I’m not waiting! And you!” he jabbed his finger in the Detective’s face. “You should be out there searching instead of here accusing me. Wasting time and Shruti-”

Diwa drew in a soft breath.

“Suresh.”

The sound susurrated the air around her lips and Suresh stopped. He blinked at her, confused.

Diwa’s smile was gentle. “It’s okay,” she said. With each word an almost pacifying effect seemed to settle on Suresh’s shoulders. “Now go back. Find your daughter. She’ll be safe.”

Slowly, Suresh began to nod. “She’ll be safe.” He swallowed. “Yes. Yes, she’ll be safe.”

“We’ll stay in touch,” Detective Redwarden said, but Suresh had already turned and was walking towards the main road. Both he and Diwa remained silent as Suresh rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

Diwa took some time to study the Detective. She tried not to look up, but at five foot one it was hard not to. The man was built like an oak, tall with broad shoulders and strong trunks for legs. He was handsome in a chiseled way with dark, brown eyes flecked with shades of honey.

And he was side-eying her too.

“You have a way with words Ms. Aldawan,” he said at length.

Diwa lifted her chin. “Soft skills, Detective. Worth learning, don’t you think?”

“Sure. Though the way you use it is…strangely compelling…”

Diwa took a step back. Suspicion coloured his tone and she didn’t like it.

“What exactly are you implying?”

Instead of answering, Detective Redwarden turned to fully face her. Then, without bothering to hide the movement, he looked her up and down. Diwa felt the prickling of her skin and she instinctively folded her arms against the scrutiny. There was a sharpness in his eyes that wasn’t there before and Diwa sensed something darker and larger looking through them.

She felt her feathers ruffling. Oh how easy it would be to slap him into the next life! But that would be too much. Besides, she knew exactly what he would see, if he was among the few who could see anything at all.

And that was absolutely nothing.

The Detective ended his scan with a scowl.

“Finished?” Diwa snapped.

Detective Redwarden answered with a ponderous “hmmm…” before baring his teeth in a smile.

“I’ll see you around,” he said.

Before Diwa could tear into him, several people rounded the corner and began to approach. Most of them were too focused on eating whatever they had on hand, but there were others who watched them, their gazes curious.

With a sniff Diwa stormed back towards the main road. Right now she had employees to look after and a company to run.

Detective Redward was going to have to drop dead on his own.

III

Diwa barely got home before she laced up and threw herself back outside.

Her condo overlooked the Rouge Valley, a vibrant national park that marked the boundary of Toronto’s east side. October brushed the leaves with warm amber and scarlet, luring everyone nearby to wander among the trees. The early evening sky promised a scant hour of light but beneath the canopy it was already dusk.

Diwa struggled to keep a steady pace. Her body strained to let go, to speed through this part with abandon. But at every turn there was a face, or a dog, or a family with a stroller taking up the entire trail. Diwa did her best to smile and wave.

Eventually the trail turned to where it ran parallel to the river, but instead of following it Diwa swung to the left. No one was there to watch as she slipped into the space between two bent trees.

The Veil closed around her like mist.

Gauzy tendrils pulled taut, testing, then just as quickly twirled apart. Diwa crashed into the undergrowth, the Veil whispering away from her like smoke. Then she was sprinting, pelting through a tangle of a forest so old the brush grew close and the oaks rose untouched.

A fire burned in Diwa’s chest so hot the undergrowth parted in her wake. Her breath came in harsh gasps. The taste of iron coated her throat but she did not slow, did not stop.

The trees opened and finally she was at the cliffs. An ageless sky, turning from blue to gold swooped up from the autumn carpet below. Diwa felt its call, felt her spirit’s answering cry. With a final burst of speed she sprinted towards the cliff’s edge.

And leapt.

Suspended in the moment, Diwa reached out. Golden light shimmered over her open arms. It clung to her like motes of powdered opal, sparkling, flickering, catching.

Then Diwa began to burn.

Heat seared through her but she felt no pain. She felt her body expand, radiating past the confines of skin and bone. Her limbs hardened, her fingers forging themselves into steel talons. Embers chased the length of her, flaking skin to reveal scales and feathered flames.

In the midst of the inferno, fiery wings unfurled. They flapped once, heat swirling the air in a vortex. As the prickling burn of the transformation completed Diwa threw back her head, revealing a drake-like face hooked by a blackened, steel beak. She let out a piercing scream.

Diwa, the minokawa, was free.

IV

Diwa wheeled through the sky, her body a blazing contrast to the fading blue. Far below her, the city was nowhere to be seen. In its place was a forest, deep and primordial. It stretched for miles, climbing northward ridges and swells before rising to a line of mountains blue in the distance.

To the south lay an endless line of grey, speckled by the setting sun. The Shifting Bay. In the Human World it was split into five Great Lakes but here, in the Hidden Lands, they were one.

The Human World. A strange concept and an even stranger place. There was a time when humans crossed freely into the Hidden Lands. Magic and knowledge flowed like water and both sides flourished. Where and when the Divide began was still up for debate. Some say it was due to humanity’s tendency to destroy what they couldn’t control. Others say it was the rampage of the Scaled Tyrants that served as the catalyst. Whatever the cause, the Veil thickened. By the time Diwa hatched the Divide was complete, with humanity on one side and everything else bound on the other.

That did not stop either side from reaching out though. While the Veil prohibited large and powerful entities from escaping, smaller entities and strong-willed humans were able to make the crossing. The way was treacherous and all too often those that attempted it were lost. But there were some places where magic and memory wore a patch in the Veil and a way between would open. They were few and far between, but they were enough.

It took Diwa some time to adjust to the Human World. Crossing into the Philippines was the easy part. Learning how to forge a life and make her way to where the place humans call Canada was another, but she managed. Better than most if she was being honest. Diwa long admired the industriousness of her human neighbours. Through them she learned how to build things from scratch. While she was no Scaled Tyrant, Diwa enjoyed the fruits of her labour and the prestige it provided. A minokawa made its home above the world after all, and Moonrise Homes was her rightful perch.

Soaring over the canopy Diwa felt her cares melt away. The challenges of running Moonrise Homes, the insult of Detective Redwarden’s inspection, all of them shrank in the face of what she was. All of them except…

Suresh’s anguish slipped into her thoughts and Diwa felt a pang of regret. It was such a shame. Though Diwa was free to be powerful here, if she were to reveal her true nature in the Human World the consequences would be -

The sullen thoughts sent her stomach rumbling and Diwa shook them aside. Perhaps she could catch some salmon where the river meets the bay. She knew they were delicious at this time.

As Diwa turned her face towards the south a curious sound reached her ears. She cocked her head. Was that a scream? Dipping lower, Diwa searched for the source of the sound. Her gaze pierced through the thick canopy, tracking…

There!

A small figure darted into the undergrowth and Diwa let out a cry.

She dove straight into the forest.

V

Diwa’s wings folded and her body shrank. Scales and feathers smoothed away, replaced with human limbs and Lululemons. Heat billowed in a gentle whoosh when she touched the ground.

All was quiet.

Diwa approached the brush with cautious steps before crouching to peer beneath the leaves.

“Hey Sweetie, what are you doing under there?”

A little girl stared up from under the bushes. She was pressed flat into the dirt, her clothes filthy with leaves and soil. Fear wafted from her and she made no sound.

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you.” Diwa offered a reassuring smile. For some reason that had the girl shrinking further out of reach.

Diwa frowned. The girl must have wandered through a thin patch and got lost. How long ago that was Diwa couldn’t say, but with night falling she had to get her out. There were many creatures that stalked the Hidden Lands and while some may be kinder than most, Diwa did not like the odds. The kid couldn’t be more than five years old.

She let her breath curl in a soft sigh and held out her hand.

“Anak. Child.”

The girl blinked as the words took hold.

“It’s not safe here,” Diwa said. “Come out.”

The girl began to tremble. Her breath came rapidly in short, panicked puffs. Then all at once she was scrambling, shaking, sobbing. She barreled into Diwa’s arms and let out a long, drawn out wail.

Crooning, Diwa petted the girl’s head. Twigs and leaves were tangled in her braids and Diwa picked out as much as she could. When the girl finally calmed, she held her at arms’ length and wiped away the tears.

“What’s your name, Sweetie?” Diwa asked.

“Shruti.”

Shit.

Diwa mentally slapped herself. Under the brush the child looked like any lost kid in the woods, but after cleaning her face Diwa could finally see the resemblance.

She ran her hands over Shruti’s limbs, feeling for any deep wounds or broken bones.

“You are a very brave girl,” Diwa said once she was sure the girl was unhurt. “But it’s time to take you home. Your mommy and daddy are looking everywhere for you…”

“No! No!” Shruti’s eyes went round. She shook her head so fast Diwa was afraid it would fly off her shoulders.

“Why, what’s wrong?”

Shruti’s words were barely a whisper.

“That’s not my Daddy.”

VI

“Shruti!”

From behind the base of an ancient oak Suresh stepped out. A relieved smile stretched his face. He still wore his blazer and slacks from the afternoon, Diwa noticed. He even combed his hair…

“There you are!” Suresh approached quickly, arms outstretched. “I was so worried-”

“Back!”

Diwa’s voice cracked the air like a whip and Suresh stumbled. His smile faltered and for an instant Diwa thought she saw his eyes darken. But then she blinked and suddenly he was closer, his eyes clear and his smile wider.

“I’m so sorry ma’am,” Suresh said, sounding contrite. “It’s just that I’ve been looking all over for her and it was getting dark. I was afraid she would be wandering the woods all night.” He smiled gently and reached out again. “But I can take her from here.”

Diwa held Shruti close. She glanced over Suresh’s blazer and slacks. Not a thread out of place. Not a scuff to be seen.

The warning prickle at the back of her neck intensified and she tugged Shruti behind her.

“I’d gladly give her to you,” Diwa said cooly. Shruti whimpered but Diwa held her tight. “But first tell me, Suresh, what is my name?”

Again, there was a shadow in Suresh’s eyes but his expression didn’t change.

“I’m sorry?” The corners of his lips twitched up. “Do I know you?”

Diwa’s laugh was mirthless. “I’m afraid I pay him way too much to forget.”

That’s when Suresh’s smile widened.

Way. Too. Wide.

Diwa drew herself to her full height. “Hear me creature!” Her voice rang with the force of a hundred gongs. “The man whose face you wear works beneath my wings. All he holds dear are under my protection. Shruti is his daughter. You. May. Not. Touch her!”

The air broke beneath her decree. Sparks snapped and in the space between them there hung a tension so fraught it was almost visible. But in the stillness that followed there was only a silence. A breath.

A shudder.

It began on Suresh's shoulders. They rose with each spasm, lifting higher and higher until the bones of his torso twisted and split. Flesh sloughed from boney hips as the thing that was Suresh rose from the shadows. Its body stretched, revealing a spine with many ribs. They danced and clacked like a centipede’s legs before they were muffled beneath a cloak of skin. A constricted wheeze escaped its elongated throat and it threw back its head, empty now but for two pits for eyes and an impossible, chattering smile.

A maddening laugh echoed throughout the forest.

“May?” Its voice overlapped upon itself, sending Diwa’s ears ringing. “You speak as if I need your permission. But you’re just an outsider who dares to act like they are home. A trespasser in a land that has long been mine. And you dare steal from me?!”

The creature loomed above her, its spider-like arms serrating the air with its talons.

“I will teach you, outsider!” it screeched. “I will rend her from you, piece by piece, then make you beg as I flay you apart!”

The creature lunged at them, all screams and scratching. But before it could close the distance there was a piercing cry.

Fire radiated outward forming a circle bright as day. Diwa stood in the centre, one arm holding Shruti close, the other wreathed in flames. They fanned down like a great wing before flaring out to a sharpened plume. The tip curled the shadows at the centre of the creature’s neck.

“Touch her and BURN!”

Suddenly, a roar blasted through the forest and Diwa stumbled. The creature scuttled backwards before falling into a defensive crouch.

Behind her someone cleared their throat.

"Pardon me." There was a cough and the sound of spitting. “Been a while since I did that.”

Diwa struggled to keep the shock from her voice.

"Detective?"

Detective Redwarden stepped into the light and into her view. He still wore his uniform but they seemed tighter on him now. That or he was bigger than before. A quick glance told Diwa it was the latter and though the creature towered above them both there was an aura about the man that made him bigger. Like before Diwa saw something watching from behind his eyes. Something dark, angry and ursine.

Those same eyes slid to Diwa. They lingered on the flames coating her arm before landing on the girl clinging behind her.

"Take her home," he said. "I'll take it from here."

The creature spat, cursing in a language Diwa didn't know. The Detective's lips thinned into a snarling grin.

"No need for back-up, Detective?" she asked.

"Nah," he laughed. "I'm more than enough, don't you think?" This he directed at the creature. Its smile remained, but its body seemed to wilt. Detective Redwarden's laugh grew deeper until all that was left was a predatory growl.

His roar, when it came, nearly deafened the world.

"GO!"

As Diwa leapt burning into the air, Detective Redwarden's body swelled. Clothes and flesh ripped apart giving way to black bristles and fur. They coated his back and shoulders, encircled his thickening neck. Splitting through his muscular arms they rippled over his hands now massive and clawed. His face bulged, lengthening into a feral snout. By the time Diwa’s wings unfurled there was nothing left of the Detective except his eyes. Eyes that now burned from the face of a giant black bear.

Then Diwa turned and flew deep into the night.

VII

The TV in the Tim Hortons was muted but there were captions running along the bottom of the screen.

Shruti Silvalingham, aged 5, was found on a wooded trail near her mother’s home in Scarborough. Police believe the girl wandered away from home and got lost when she tried to return. Her father, Suresh Rajaratnam, was cleared of all suspicion.

There was more to it of course. When Diwa emerged from the Veil she had to work quickly to transport the girl without being seen. The main road was three kilometers away, but night had fallen so the shadows were on her side. That and the Veil had rendered Shruti unconscious, which made things easier. When Diwa heard the joggers approaching, she left her on the road and hid.

“You left her on the ground? Really?”

Seated across from her, Detective Redwarden shook his head.

“I didn’t know where her mother lived,” Diwa snapped. “And even if I did I can’t just walk right up and plop her down. There’d be questions.”

“Poor girl,” the Detective muttered.

“Don’t worry. She won’t remember a thing.” The Veil had an amnesiac effect on humans whenever they tried to leave the Hidden Lands.

Diwa sipped her coffee and nodded towards the Detective’s shoulder. “How’s the wound?” she asked. He answered with a grunt.

After making sure Shruti was safe Diwa returned to the Hidden Lands in search of him. She found the Detective at the river washing away what could only be described as rancid blood and gore. To her relief his injuries only looked worse than they actually were.

There was a moment of awkwardness after they finished dressing his wounds. The air had gotten clammy by the time they crossed back into Toronto and Diwa could smell the approach of rain. When Detective Redwarden suggested coffee, Diwa followed.

Outside, the rain kept up a steady drizzle.

“At least this time it was a happy ending,” the Detective said. “Sure makes this job a lot more bearable.”

A spark of mischief danced in Diwa’s eyes but Detective Redwarden stopped her with a glare.

“Don’t.”

Diwa spread her hands in a conciliatory gesture before asking, “what was that thing?”

Detective Redwarden took a deep gulp of his coffee. “We call it the Smile-With-Many-Faces,” he said. “A child eater, one that would replicate the faces of the kid’s parents or guardians before whisking them away past the Veil. The only way one can tell the difference is…”

“It never really frowned, did it?” Diwa shuddered. If Shruti had been alone for one minute longer…

“I’d been tracking that thing for a month, slippery bastard,” The Detective said. “I suppose you have similar creatures behind the Far Eastern Veil. With both worlds so wide I can’t believe it’s unique to these parts.”

Diwa hummed with agreement. There were many things lurking in the Hidden Lands that legend and myth forgot. The Smile-With-Many-Faces was just one of them.

Detective Redwarden studied her, and Diwa knew what was coming.

“When we first met you hid your nature so well I couldn’t tell what you were,” he said. “Mind telling me now?”

Diwa considered staying mum. After his blatant perusal of her earlier that day, keeping him in the dark was tempting.

But he did kill that thing.

“I’m a minokawa,” she said. “From the Sea of a Thousand Pearls, though the humans here just call it the Philippines.”

“Minokawa.” The Detective regarded her warily. “Is that a Thunderbird or dragon of some sort?”

“Dear no, nothing that grand!” Diwa laughed and shook her head. “Although bird-dragon is the usual classification. I can eat the sun and moon if you believe the stories.”

“Can you?”

“No, but one of my ancestors got drunk and tried. Now we’re all tarred with the same brush.” She tipped her chin towards him. “Your turn.”

The Detective leaned back, his large frame nearly filling the booth behind him. “Shifter,” he said. “Long time ago we were Annishinaabe until one of us married a great bear spirit. Power passes through the blood. Has a tendency to skip generations though.”

“So there are more like you?” Diwa asked.

“We have a population but it's not as large as it used to be.” He sighed and looked out the window. “There’s too few of us to guard the lands these days.”

Diwa swirled her coffee. “I could have helped, you know,” she said at length.

“I know,” Detective Redwarden said. “But that was my forest to keep.”

There wasn’t much to say after that.

It was 1:30 a.m. by the time they left the Tim Hortons. Though her condo was nearby the Detective offered to give her a lift. Diwa studied his profile as he drove. His features were proud and stern, as expected from one in his profession. But the closer they got to her home the more she saw it give. More than once she caught him glancing at her, his jaw working as if to speak. By the time they rolled up to the front doors he was scowling.

Diwa poked him on the shoulder. “Last chance,” she said.

For a moment he looked as if he was going to deny it, but then his face grew bashful.

“Well…” he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve always wondered what it was like to fly…”

A puff of laughter escaped Diwa’s lips. The Detective’s face quickly shuttered, but before he could pull away Diwa laid a hand over his.

“Bold,” she said. Something in her voice seemed to reach him though she knew she did nothing to affect it. Detective Redwarden brightened.

And Diwa smiled.